Survey: Tennessee Ranks in Bottom 10 for Health

Knoxville (WVLT) –Tennessee ranks 40 out of 50 when it comes to health system performance according to a new study. It’s a case of too much remedies and not enough preventative healthcare.

A survey of various health-related indicators by the Commonwealth Fund found that Tennessee ranks in the middle of the pack, at 26, for access to medical care and quality of that care.

The state does, however, rank among the worst states, at 42, for “Avoidable Hospital Use and Costs” and “Healthy Lives”. In other words, according to this study, Tennessee does not do enough to prevent health issues.

According to the survey, $49.7 million could be saved by reducing the number of Medicare hospital readmissions and an additional $28.3 million could be saved by reducing the number of hospitalizations. Both can be remedied by improving healthy living.

A quick check of neighboring states shows that North Carolina ranks 30th, Alabama is 41st, Georgia is 42nd, Kentucky comes in at 45th and Mississippi is dead last.

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